Soqquadro
Soqquadro Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Idea of the Game
You are going to see your friends go crazy all together. They will draw cards and run around the house looking for every sort of strange objects; just to move a little pawn on a dull scorepath. If you didn't understand a thing and you are not so impressed or scared, go on with this. But be careful! Your life won't ever be the same!
Components
- 36 green cards (easy)
- 36 yellow cards (medium)
- 36 red cards (hard)
- 6 coloured pawns
- 1 two-sided board (white and coloured)
- 1 hourglass
- 1 house (not included!)
Setup
Place the board in the center of the table, on the side you decide to play (white for the Relaxed Game, coloured for the Extreme game). Each player chooses a colour and takes the pawn of that colour, then places his pawn on the "0" box of the scorepath on the board. Shuffle separately the three decks (green, yellow and red) and place them face-down on the table in a way that each player can easily reach them.
Clearly circumscribe the playing area! Agree with the master of the house (you decide the agreement method) upon the exact playing area (rooms you cannot enter, compartments and closets you cannot open, etc.). It may be useful, then, to free the table from any object you don't need. You may also decide to play standing (in order to be faster) and use your chairs as an extension of the table (use them to collect your objects).
Cards
Each card indicates one object specified by one or two features: green cards specify one feature, yellow and red cards specify a combination of two features (both must be satisfied!). On the top of each card a score is indicated: 1 for green cards, 2 for yellow cards, 3 for red cards.
Features may be:
- a letter: the name of the object must start with that letter;
- a physical property: the object must have that property;
- a colour: the object must be (mainly) of that colour.
An object that satisfies the feature (or the features) indicated by a card allows the player who finds it to move his pawn forward on the scorepath by a number of boxes equal to the card score value.
The Game
The game goes on in real time. All players play contemporaneously. Forget rounds and phases. At the Start! signal each player draws a card from a deck and searches for an object that satisfies its request. When he finds it, he places it on the table and moves his pawn on the scorepath. He can now draw another card. A player can decide at any moment to discard a card when he can't find an object that satisfies its request. When a pawn passes for the first time over a Challenge Line, the game stops for a while and a Challenge is played. The game ends when a pawn first reaches or crosses box nr. 16 of the scorepath. Players count their points and determine the winner.
To Search an Object
The player must search around the house (in the playing area permitted) for an object that (in his opinion) satisfies the feature(s) specified by the card in his hand. When he finds it, he must take it to the table, place that card on a flat surface (the table itself, a chair, the pavement) and cover the card with the related object. Then he must move his pawn forward on the scorepath (1 box if the card is green, 2 boxes if the card is yellow, 3 boxes if the card is red).
Attention!! If you forget to move your pawn in this moment you are not allowed to do it later!
You can now draw another card.
E.g.- Gino draw the red card C+VIOLET. He must search for a violet object that starts with the C. He finds in the kitchen a violet corkscrew, he places it on the card and he moves his pawn forward by 3 boxes.
To Discard a Card
If you decide to discard the card (you don't find an object that satisfies it or you think from the start that it's too difficult), place the card face down in front of you. At the end of the game you will lose 1 point for each discarded card.
Challenge
There are 3 Lines marked by a QQ on the scorepath (before box number 5, 9, 13); they are called Challenge Lines. When a player passes over a Challenge Line with his pawn for the first time he must scream: "CHALLENGE!".
All players must stop immediately and who is around searching for objects must return to the table. When everyone is ready, the player who screamed at the Challenge turns the hourglass and draws a card from the deck indicated by the Challenge box (first challenge is green, second is yellow, third is red); then everyone must search for an object that satisfies the feature(s) required by the challenge card.
The first player who takes a correct object back to the table wins the challenge and moves his pawn forward on the scorepath. If nobody finds a correct object before the hourglass time is over, the challenge ends without a winner and the card is discarded. At the end of the challenge, the game restarts normally. Only three Challenges happen in one game (one per colour).
End of the Game
The game ends when a pawn reaches or crosses the box nr 16 of the scorepath.
Starting from a random player (or chosen with Bim Bum Bam), all players show the objects they have collected, sum their card values and verify if their pawns are in the correct box. If the pawn is up ahead where it should be, it must be taken back to the right box. However, if it is behind the right box, it doesn't move! (Players must remember to move their pawns after they find each object.)
E.g.- Gino found 3 objects matching green cards, 3 objects matching yellow cards and 2 objects matching red cards, so he scored 15 points. His pawn is on box number 14 (he probably forgot to move it once). Unfortunately he can't move it forward now.
Then they show cards and matching objects one by one and check the accuracy of every match. If the match is evidently wrong (each player tries to convince the others unless they find an agreement), that player loses the score of that card, and moves his pawn backward on the scorepath (1/2/3 boxes according to the card value).
E.g.- Gino found a 10 euro banknote matching the green card THICK: obviously a banknote is thin and the match is wrong. He must move his pawn back by 1 box.
Every player moves his pawn back by 1 box for each discarded card. The player who has the more advanced pawn at this point is the winner.
Team Game
Soqquadro can be easily played as a team game. Arrange teams of two people. One player remains at the table, draws cards, moves the pawn, argues with other players; the other runs around the playing area searching for the objects.
Relaxed Game
In the Relaxed game you can always draw a card from a deck of your choice.
If you want a more relaxed game (or if you are playing with little kids) you can use only the yellow and the green decks.
Extreme Game
In the Extreme side of the board, each box of the scorepath is coloured. If a pawn is on a green box that player can draw cards from a deck of your choice. If it is on a yellow box that player can only draw yellow and red cards (he cannot draw green cards!). If a pawn is on a red box that player can only draw red cards.